Democrats are panicking as polls tighten and media interviews stop

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Vice President Kamala Harris' media campaign has not yet paid off in the polls.

The Democratic presidential nominee has participated in a series of high-profile interviews over the past week after months of Republican complaints that she evaded scrutiny. But they didn't seem to have made much of a difference in their favor yet.

Both candidates have plateaued in recent weeks; She has a 2.6-point lead over Trump in the latest average of national polls. Thirty-five Show average values.

Harris received much praise for her openness Call her dad Interview and her ability to go through light-hearted and heavy topics with Stephen Colbert. Still, polls don't suggest their recent performances have made much of a difference with voters.

“We all knew it was going to be hard,” said one Democratic aide The hill. “It will depend on the wire. Nobody knows how this will end. That’s almost the scariest part.”

Perhaps part of this lack of change is due to their attitudes toward guns.

The vice president has repeatedly mentioned that she owns a gun. Last month she told Oprah Winfrey, “If someone breaks into my house, they're going to get shot.” Harris clarified in her “60 Minutes” interview this week that she owns a “Glock,” a type of handgun. As San Francisco district attorney, Harris supported a measure in 2005 that sought to ban handguns in the city.

The fact that they, like their Vice President Tim Walz, are gun owners adds some nuance to the conversation about gun safety and contradicts the Trump campaign's message that if elected, they would “confiscate everyone's gun.” However, in doing so it could alienate part of its base. According to a 2024 Pew Research study, more men than women, more Republicans than Democrats and more white Americans than people of color own guns.

Additionally, nearly six in 10 Americans support stricter gun laws. Harris has said she supports assault weapons bans, universal background checks and red flag laws, calling the measures “common sense” — but the image of her as a gun owner could cloud those claims.

A Democratic strategist recounted The hill that the fact that she owns a gun might resonate with moderates who may have had enough of Trump. Meanwhile, Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist who has called for “meaningful gun law reforms,” said New York Times that Harris risks not appealing to many gun owners because of her stance on banning assault weapons.

The impact of the current Democratic Party's nuanced gun stance on undecided voters remains to be seen.

The vice president has also chosen not to distance herself from President Joe Biden, potentially putting a dent in the bright, promising image she has cultivated since rising to the top of the list. Biden was trailing Trump at the time of his exit from the race. But Harris has since closed the gap and made progress, consistently leading Trump virtually from the start of the race.

Democrats rallied behind Harris, motivated by the prospect of a younger, new candidate with potentially different views on hot-button issues like the refugee crisis and the war in Gaza.

But when I was asked The view If she would do anything different than Biden this week during his term, she replied, “I can't think of anything.” She added that she was “involved in most of the decisions that had an impact” in the Biden administration.

Trump immediately criticized Harris' response in a Truth Social post: “Lying Kamala, who is exposed as a 'dummy' every time she does a show, just told the degenerates on 'The View' that she is no different than crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.”

When asked by Bill Whitaker on “60 Minutes” whether it was a “mistake to loosen immigration policy as much as you have,” Harris responded by pointing to the “historic surge” of undocumented immigrants, without providing any further details: “It’s been like this for a long time.” Problem. And there are solutions. And from day one, we have literally offered solutions.”

Craig Agranoff, a professor of political marketing at Florida Atlantic University, said Newsweek: “Their answers, particularly about the border and the differences between their administration and Biden’s, appear to dissatisfy both Republicans and some Democrats.”

A major donor told us so The hill that the race looked like a “flip of the coin.”

“I feel better than last week, but it still doesn’t feel good,” the donor said. “I have a pit in my stomach.” This donor felt that her message on the economy might not resonate.

Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis agreed. “If I had any advice: You need a much, much stronger and more detailed economic message,” Kofinis told NBC News. “Talking about aspirations, hopes and dreams is not a message. The economic issue is still Trump’s main advantage and one of the only reasons this race is as close as it is.”

Polls show the economy is the top issue for swing state voters. Currently, 45 percent of voters in battleground states think Harris can handle the economy better, slightly behind Trump's 49 percent.